Witness says Ampatuans sending death threats

On December 9, 2009, a man wearing a heavy-hooded jacket was whisked into a waiting Air Force plane at the General Santos City airport. He had just been extricated by government troops from an area where Ampatuan followers were still believed to be lurking around. As soon as the plane touched down at the Villamor Air Base, the mysterious star witness was escorted away to safety, and kept under a tight security blanket.

On December 11, the eyewitness executed an affidavit detailing his explosive testimony on the Maguindanao massacre. It was not until he took the witness stand on January 13, 2010 that his identity would be revealed: Rasul Sangki, the vice-mayor of Ampatuan town, where the massacre took place.

Sangki was kept on the witness stand for more than five hours, including an hour-long grilling by defense counsel, Atty. Sigfrid Fortun.

In an interview after the hearing, Sangki admitted he was very nervous during his testimony, and yet he never wavered, never stealing a glance at the accused, Andal Ampatuan Jr, so as not to be distracted. Sangki said he would only look at Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes and the prosecution panel.

Still, Sangki, who is a grandnephew of the Ampatuan clan’s patriarch, Andal Ampatuan Sr, being a third cousin of his father, Datu Abdullah Sangki, the mayor of Ampatuan town, was prepared to go down the witness stand to identify Andal Jr. and tap him on the shoulder for identification, if not for the opposition of the defense counsel, which was sustained by Judge Solis-Reyes.

Reacting to his sister Aminah’s affidavit, which charges him of lying to cover up his involvement in the massacre and of being a drug addict, Sangki says she may have been forced to make the false allegations, because among those he implicated as having taken part in the massacre is his brother-in-law, Datu Banari Ampatuan, vice mayor of Mamasapano town. (Aminah Sangki Ampatuan’s affidavit has yet to be submitted to the court).

Rasul says his conscience bothered him, and he could not sleep after witnessing the massacre of 57 people on that fateful day of November 23. “ Sleep was elusive, I was thinking of my family, how could I reveal what happened if something would happen to them?”

It was only after the government ensured the safety of Sangki’s family that he issued an affidavit in the office of the NBI in Manila.

Even under the safekeeping of the government, Sangki says he continues to receive threats from the Ampatuans, who sent a message, “We will wipe out the Sangki family.”

Sangki says he has not seen his family since he came forward to reveal what he knows about the massacre. "I really miss them so much. Since my father and mother arrived from Mecca in early December, I have not seen them.”

But he is willing to make the sacrifice. “This is not just for myself but for my family. I am happy now that I have told the truth, with the help of Allah, so that the families of the victims will attain justice.”

But the memory of what he witnessed will be hard to erase.

Describing how Andal Jr. killed the members of the Mangudadatu convoy, he says, ”he kept shouting and shouting, like Rambo.”

His only prayer now is for the nightmares to stop, now that he had summoned enough courage to tell the court what he knows.

Police probe fire at Ampatuan farm

Police are looking into a fire that burned down 7 houses at an Ampatuan-owned mango farm in Datu Hoffer town in Maguindanao.

At past 7 p.m. on Tuesday, authorities noticed the fire in the mango farm owned by the Ampatuan clan in Barangay Limpongo, meters away from Datu Hoffer police station.

The incident took place after police and representatives from the Commission on Human Rights discovered possible grave sites at the mango farm. They said the farm may have served as a mass grave in 2001.

Police said some of the gutted houses were owned by the caretakers of the mango farm.

Some of the residents said armed men possibly angry at the Ampatuans torched their houses. Police, however, said they did not see any suspicious armed group prior to the incident.

The residents said they were able to see the people behind the torching of houses, but they are not certain of their identities.

Authorites have yet to determine the motive behind the incident.

Meanwhile, a police team raided the staff house of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., the clan's patriarch, in Davao City around 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Armed with a search warrant issued by the Davao City Regional Trial Court Branch 11, police breached the staff house and looked for several firearms allegedly hidden in vaults.

Policemen, however, only found 2 empty vaults inside the staff house.

The raid was conducted as part of the government's crackdown on the Ampatuan clan's armories in various parts of Mindanao.

The former governor has been charged by police for his alleged involvement in a rebellion and the massacre.

Ampatuan Sr.'s sons, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., suspended Maguindanao governor Sajid Ampatuan and suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan have been arrested and brought to different detention facilities. With reports from Lora Mae Andor, ABS-CBN Central Mindanao and ANC News@8

Prosecution presents NBI exec as witness vs Ampatuan

The prosecution panel on the Maguindanao massacre case submitted sworn statements of witnesses in opposition to the petition for bail by prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. before a Quezon City trial court.

During the bail hearing this morning at the second floor of the PNCO Clubhouse in Camp Crame, Quezon City, assistant chief state prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon also presented National Bureau of Investigation director Ricardo Diaz as witness to affirm the statements before Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes.

The sworn statements included those taken by investigators from Buluan vice mayor Esmael Mangundadatu, whose relatives were among those killed in the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao last Nov. 23.

Taking the witness stand, Diaz, who has been in the NBI for 23 years, said he was tasked by NBI chief Nestor Mantaring to lead the investigation into the incident.

During the submission of evidence by Fadullon, Ampatuan’s lawyer Sigfried Fortun repeatedly asked for the relevance of the testimony of Diaz in the bail hearing.

Diaz narrated how they implemented the arrest on Ampatuan at the General Santos City Airport and the ensuing inquest proceedings by Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera.

The prosecution will present 12 more witnesses in connection with the bail hearing.

Reyes set the next hearing on Jan. 13 and 20. - By Dennis Carcamo (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

Ampatuan Jr. pleads not guilty

Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to the 41 murder charges so far filed against him by the police in connection with the Maguindanao massacre last November 23.

"[He pleaded] Not guilty to all the 41 charges," Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Leila de Lima told reporters outside the building of the Philippine National Police's (PNP) Police Non-Commissioned Officers' Clubhouse inside Camp Crame, where the trial is being held.

During the arraignment, ANC's Patricia Evangelista reported that the murder charges were initially read as they applied to the 41 initial victims of the Maguindanao massacre.

However, after the third murder charges were read, they decided to speed up the process by reading the charges in batches: the first 25 victims first and then the next 16 victims.

"On both [sets] of cases, Andal Ampatuan Jr. pleaded not guilty," Evangelista, an accredited reporter for the trial, said.

Andal Jr. is expected to be slapped with 16 more counts of murder once the paperwork and evidence-gathering are completed.

Before the arraignment, Fortun also claimed that his client could not understand English or Filipino, and that he could only understand Maguindanaoan.

"They were asked if they had a translator, they said no. And then he [Andal Jr.] was asked again if he could understand English or Filipino, and he said he could understand English so they proceeded with the arraignment," Evangelista reported.

Photos, videos presented

After the arraignment, Ampatuan Jr.'s petition for bail started, and the prosecution presented Ricardo Diaz, head of the National Bureau of Investigation's (NBI) anti-terrorism unit.

Diaz presented photos, videos and affidavits in connection with the massacre. Upon cross examination, Ampatuan Jr.'s lawyer, Sigfrid Fortun, argued that the evidence was not relevant. He said none of evidence could be proven since Diaz was not at the scene when the photos and videos were taken.

After Diaz's presentation, prosecutors said they actually prepared only one witness.

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 then set the next bail hearing on Wednesday, January 13. She also decided to have twice-weekly sessions thereafter.

Prosecutor said they would be presenting 12 witnesses for the petition for bail and gave the names of the 12, which include Buluan Vice-Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu.

Solis asked the prosecution to limit its number of witnesses.

De Lima said the judge asked the prosecution if they could shorten the list of witnesses so as not to prolong the bail hearing. She said the camp of the accused has told the court that it has only 2 witnesses to defend their petition.

De Lima said Ampatuan Jr. looked bored and was yawning all the time during the hearing.

Before the hearing was wrapped up, private lawyers representing the families of the massacre victims made a manifestation, urging Judge Reyes to order the transfer of Ampatuan Jr. from the NBI detention center to the Quezon City Jail.

The families reportedly complained about "the supposed special treatment" of Andal Ampatuan Jr. at the NBI.

De Lima said that judge "noted" the manifestation. She said the judge was expected to act on the manifestation as soon as a formal motion has been filed by the private lawyers headed by Harry Roque.

Burden of proof

Professor Marvic Leonen, dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law, said the petition for bail would be an opportunity for the Ampatuan Jr.'s camp and the court to take a peek at the evidence of prosecutors.

"This is an opportunity to study the evidence to be presented by the prosecution," Leonen told radio dzMM on Tuesday. He was confident that the prosecution team would not have a hard time presenting evidence for the 41 murder charges.

He said that based on the rules of court, the prosecution team would have to first present their evidence to oppose the petition for bail filed by Ampatuan Jr.

"Sa Saligang Batas natin, kailangan ipakita ng prosecution na ang evidence of guilt is strong (Under the 1987 Constitution, the prosecution needs to prove that the evidence of guilt is strong). The burden is on them to present strong evidence," Leonen said.

He said that because of the unpredictability of how the prosecution team would present its evidence against Ampatuan Jr., and how the defense would react, the petition for bail is expected to prolong the trial.

Trial starts

Ampatuan Jr. arrived Tuesday morning at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame on a bulletproof van. Live footage of ABS-CBN's Umagang Kay Ganda (UKG) showed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) convoy leaving its main headquarters in Manila at around 6:15 a.m. The convoy arrived at Camp Crame in Quezon City around 6:30 a.m., 2 hours earlier than the scheduled hearing at 8:30 a.m. A radio dzMM report said Buluan town Vice-Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, Maguindanao gubernatorial candidate, arrived at Camp Crame around 8 a.m.. Mangudadatu's wife and two sisters, who were going to file a certificate of candidacy on his behalf, were killed in the incident. The trial started after Ampatuan Jr. was escorted into the PNP's Police Non-Commissioned Officers' Clubhouse at around 8:32 a.m. Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera told UKG that the first hearing would tackle the petition for bail filed by the lawyers of Ampatuan Jr. She said the petition forces the government's prosecution team to immediately produce evidence on the multiple murder charges. "The judge would hear the petition for bail first before conducting the arraignment. The prosecutors would have to present evidence so that the judge will not grant the petition for bail," the justice secretary said. Devanadera said they will also present statements from various witnesses who have implicated Ampatuan Jr.. She said some witnesses placed Ampatuan Jr. at the crime scene in Barangay Saniag, Ampatuan town, where the 57 bodies of the massacre victims were found in 2 mass graves. She said she was confident that Judge Reyes would junk Ampatuan Jr.'s petition for bail after 2 hearings.

Test for justice system

The bail hearing is the first step in judicial proceedings that many fear could drag on for years.

"This is something that everyone must monitor every step of the way," said Ramon Casiple, a political analyst with the Institute for Political and Economic Reform.

"What we are facing here is a very strong clan with very strong political connections and the capability to intimidate or even kill witnesses," he told AFP.

"This puts the justice system to a test, because past cases with heavy political overtones have never been satisfactorily concluded."

Casiple cited as an example the trial of former President Joseph Estrada, who was deposed in a military-backed popular revolt in 2001, for massive corruption.

After a marathon six-year trial, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, only to be pardoned and set free by successor Gloria Arroyo.

"At the end of the day, it's still politics talking. And these warlords will not go down quietly," Casiple said.

Technicalities, delay

Some in Ampatuan Jr.'s battery of high-profile lawyers also worked in the Estrada trial, and they are expected to raise technicalities to delay the case, he said.

One judge has already backed out from the explosive case, saying he feared for his life. There have also been calls from prosecutors for the justice department to ensure the safety of witnesses.

Ampatuan Jr. allegedly led 100 of his men in stopping a convoy carrying members of a political rival and journalists on November 23.

The dead were systematically murdered and buried in shallow pits or dumped in grasslands just near the national highway in Maguindanao province, where Amapatuan Jr.'s father and namesake was governor.

Ampatuan Sr. as well as several other clan members were later arrested after martial law was imposed in Maguindanao and charged separately with rebellion.

In her report to Congress defending martial law, Arroyo said those massacred bore "marks of despicable torture, contempt and outrageous torment."

She also said that clan followers had threatened to carry out attacks if their patrons were arrested.

ICG: Arroyo partly to blame

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said last month, however, that Arroyo was partly to blame for the massacre because she had allowed a "local despot to indulge his greed and ambition."

Ampatuan Sr. had controlled Maguindanao province for most of the past decade and was grooming his son to take his place as governor in this May's national elections.

Ampatuan Sr.'s influence and power grew because Arroyo allowed him to maintain a 3,000-strong heavily armed militia as part of a government strategy to contain Muslim separatist insurgents in the south.

In exchange for the support, Ampatuan also helped deliver votes from the province to Arroyo and her candidates in the 2004 election allegedly through cheating.

The shocking crime forced her to cut political ties with the clan, but critics say the Ampatuans may still hold enough political power to avoid the penalties many believe they deserve.

"I have serious doubts about the whole exercise," Harry Roque, chairman of the advocacy group CenterLaw Philippines, who is also a private prosecutor representing the slain journalists, said of the case.

"There is a genuine fear from the victims' families that justice will not be served," he said.

Tight security Meanwhile, security in and around the police camp was very tight despite police's assurance that there was no threat on Ampatuan Jr.'s life. The Supreme Court has also banned the live coverage of the murder trial to avoid "mistrial" due to "trial by publicity." SC spokesman Midas Marquez said only authorized media personnel will be allowed in the trial venue, and they will only have a photo opportunity with the prime suspect prior to the trial. Once the trial starts, no cameras will be allowed and no one will be allowed to leave the venue except during recess. -- with reports from dzMM, ANC, Agence France-Presse

Ampatuan homes in Metro Manila under PNP surveillance

Police intelligence agents are closely monitoring at least five houses of the family and relatives of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. following reports that members of his civilian volunteer organization (CVO) involved in the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre are now hiding in Metro Manila.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) deployed intelligence agents to Tamarind Road in the posh Dasmariñas Village in Makati City; Arellano and Negros Sts., also in Makati City; San Andres Bukid in Manila and Tandang Sora in Quezon City to arrest the CVOs once they show up.

The houses were traced by intelligence agents through Ampatuan’s application papers with the Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) at Camp Crame.

There are several more Ampatuans who gave their addresses in Metro Manila on their gun license applications with the FED. Police intelligence agents are still validating whether they are related to the massacre suspects.

The monitoring of the Ampatuan houses came despite claims by Muslim elders that there are no sightings of Mayor Ampatuan’s CVOs in Muslim communities in Metro Manila.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) earlier claimed that the CVOs who took part in the massacre are now hiding in the metropolis.

PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa admitted receiving the same intelligence reports and called on the CVOs to surrender and submit themselves to the rule of law.

However, a ranking NCRPO official belittled the possibility that the civilian volunteers would hide in Metro Manila. “Our intelligence deployment is concentrated on Muslim communities in the metropolis. Maybe they can go hide in the neighboring provinces of Maguindanao but not in Metro Manila which would be disadvantageous on their part because they would be distanced from their families who are still dependent on them for support,” the NCRPO official said.

Muslim elders heeded the call of the NCRPO for their cooperation and support in maintaining peace and order in Metro Manila.

“The civilian volunteers or supporters of the Ampatuans have no place in our community. We are peace-loving people and we would gladly report their presence once they enter our community,” the Muslim elders told NCRPO chief Director Roberto Rosales.

Despite the assurance, Rosales said they have intensified intelligence operations to locate the CVOs and to prevent the spillover of the Maguindanao fighting in Metro Manila.

Ombudsman steps in

Investigators of the Office of the Ombudsman are looking into the possible misuse of government funds in Maguindanao.

Assistant Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni said Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez has instructed Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao Humphrey Monteroso to conduct a lifestyle check on the Ampatuans.

The probe also aims to determine if an unexplained wealth case can be built against the Ampatuans based on reports that they own more than a dozen mansions and keep billions of pesos in cash, he added.

Jalandoni said the anti-graft agency will also look into how the province and its municipalities have been using their internal revenue allotment.

Their officials could have violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and committed malversation of public funds, he added.

Jalandoni said graft investigators would be able to work faster because the alleged mansions and luxury vehicles of the Ampatuans have already been exposed.

“Even without a complaint, if we see that there are enough allegations and evidence, the Office can investigate,” he said.

Jalandoni said the anti-graft agency’s field investigation office was tasked to collate results of the investigations of other government agencies, particularly the Commission on Audit and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

If evidence shows misuse of public funds, the Office of the Ombudsman will file a forfeiture case in court for the recovery of ill-gotten wealth and file administrative and criminal charges against the Ampatuan family, according to Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus Jr.

Jalandoni said Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno has asked the Office of the Ombudsman to place all eight Ampatuans holding different positions under preventive suspension.

Among those in the list are Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., Acting Vice-Gov. Akmad Ampatuan Sr., Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., Datu Saudi Ampatuan Mayor Saudi Ampatuan Jr., Mamasapano Mayor Akmad Ampatuan, Mamasapano Vice Mayor Muhamad Bahnari Ampatuan, Salibo Vice Mayor Kanor Ampatuan, and Datu Abdullah Sangki Councilor Muhamad Sangki.

Complaints vs Ampatuans filed last year

A concerned people’s organization has complained to the Office of the President (OP) about numerous irregularities in Maguindanao, and the information has been referred to the Office of the Ombudsman and to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) as early as last year, according to documents obtained by The STAR.

In a letter received by the OP on Aug. 11, 2008, the concerned people’s organization appealed to President Arroyo for her “noble attention to our agony” about “our local leaders (that) fill our hearts with terror and degradation.”

The same letter was received by the General Government Administration Office on Aug. 12, 2008, which subsequently endorsed it to the Office of the Ombudsman “for information and appropriate action” on Aug. 14, 2008.

The anti-graft agency received the letter last Sept. 3, 2008.

It referred the letter to the CHR on Nov. 11, 2008. The CHR received the document on Nov. 24, 2008.

“The province of Maguindanao is entirely unique from the rest of the country,” read the letter.

“It is ruled by a wealth (sic) and blood-raven governor, Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. This place is seriously ill that needs serious attention of the national and local authorities.

“We are very much worried seeing our home place now became killing fields (sic).”

The five-page letter said the rule of Ampatuan Sr. “gave birth to tyranny in Maguindanao” amid corruption as well as what the group described as “carnage of innocent people.”

“Ambush dramas happen wherever the government would like it,” read the letter.

It mentioned certain areas where the alleged schemes were carried out, including the Quirino Bridge in Cotabato City and Datu Odin Sinsuat municipality.

The letter said these “ambush dramas” were planned to boost the popularity of the Ampatuans, as well as for the clan to get more sympathy from the people of Maguindanao.

These ambush dramas were intended to allow the transfer of the provincial capitol from Sultan Kudarat to Shariff Aguak, the letter added.

The letter said it was made to appear that the life of the governor was in danger while on his way to the provincial capitol in Sultan Kudarat.

“Today, the provincial capitol is already in Shariff Aguak, hometown of the Ampatuan clan,” read the letter.

“The transfer of the capitol in their hometown paves the way to their over doings (sic).

“It allows them to maneuver affairs to suit their needs such as results of elections and exploit the resources of the province for their own personal pleasures and to stay in power.”

The letter reported other alleged incidents:

• The untoward death of the governor’s son, Saudi Ampatuan, former mayor of Datu Piang, due to an alleged “mishandling” of the so-called ambush drama;

• The killing of an entire family, including an eight-month-old child, who was buried alive in Datu Piang, for being relatives of “somebody in their hit list”;

• The abduction, rape, and murder of a high school student of Notre Dame of Dulawan, who was subsequently “thrown like an animal;”

• The murders of alleged former fiancée or boyfriends of certain wives of the governor as well as the wife of his son and namesake, Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr.: and

• The death of a man through the use of a chainsaw.

The letter said the man was subsequently buried “in the rice field somewhere in Shariff Aguak.”

The victim was reportedly an employee of the capitol and a relative of former governor Zacaria Candao, the letter added.

The letter said the Ampatuans kill people for fun as if they were hunting their prey for sport.

“These are only few of the cruel acts the governor and his family members had done,” read the letter

“These days, human rights have died in this face of the earth (sic).”

The letter also talked about alleged misuse of government funds in Maguindanao, purportedly by the Ampatuan family.

Government projects in the province are funded out of the governor’s pork barrel and those of close relatives in the House of Representatives, not from provincial revenues, which are for the governor’s “personal aggrandizement,” the letter added.

The letter said the governor expends the resources of the provincial government “like his own wealth and properties,” and allegedly buys personal luxury cars “as often as he wishes” and builds mansions and houses in various cities.

“The people’s eyes are deceived with some developments scarcely sprouting in selected few places in the province,” read the letter.

The letter said that the provincial government bought earth-moving equipment used in the governor’s vast agricultural lands and properties allegedly grabbed from the people.

Development funds from line government agencies are released on condition of sharing portions or in exchange for favors, the letter added.

The letter said the Ampatuans had allegedly organized private armies under the guise of Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVOs), Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units (Cafgu), and auxiliaries.

The private armies were armed with around 600 assorted firearms for use of the Army and police, the letter added.

The letter said the private armies were being used by the Ampatuans “to fight for their grudges and run after their political foes.”

“The people in ARMM are really in deep frustrations,” read the letter. Towards the end of the letter, the concerned people’s organization asked Mrs. Arroyo “to put an end to this chaos regime and save the lives of the people.”

“Help us for the truth to prevail and have our caring leaders (sic),” read the letter.

“After all, not only this region will benefit from our long awaited and dreamed peace, but also the national leadership will have at least peace of mind and focus to economic progress (sic).”

Aquino: Hold Ampatuans liable for unexplained wealth

Sen. Benigno Aquino III has joined other senators in urging the government to make the Ampatuans accountable for unexplained wealth.

In a statement, Aquino said the military raids in Maguindanao have recovered not just high-caliber firearms but a fleet of luxury vehicles of the Ampatuans.

“The question is, where did all this wealth come from?” read the statement

“As public servants, Governor Ampatuan and the rest of his family must answer to the people for amassing a suspicious amount of wealth while in power.”

Aquino said the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth of Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. for 2002 showed only a net worth of P11 million.

“While the Ampatuans wallow in splendor and grandeur, their constituents suffer the hardship of squalor and poverty that is prevalent in the third poorest province in the country,” read the statement.

Aquino said the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman must investigate the apparent ill-gotten wealth of the Ampatuans

Report fromMichael Punongbayan, Katherine Adraneda, Aurea Calica - By Non Alquitran

http://eachnewsday.blogspot.com

2 nephews of Andal Sr., 19 others picked up for questioning in massacre case

Police authorities on Monday picked up two nephews of clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. and 19 other people in connection with their alleged involvement in the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan town two weeks ago. A GMA News Flash Report said Abdullah and Rex Ampatuan were picked up at the public market in Shariff Aguak, the provincial capitol. They were then taken for questioning by the police’s Crime Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). The report quoted Abdullah as saying that he saw no reason why he should be taken because he has nothing to do with the killings. The two nephews and 19 other men were brought to the CIDG’s office in Cotabato City. It was not clear whether the police were able to pick up Abdullah and Rex Ampatuan and the other men because of the imposition of martial law in the province last Friday. This page requires a higher version browser Aside from the two nephews, other members of the Ampatuan family that are under government custody are Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons: Datu Unsay, Maguindanao Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, acting Maguindanao Gov. Sajid Ampatuan and Shariff Aguak Mayor Anwar Ampatuan. The Ampatuans have denied orchestrating the grisly massacre, even as authorities have unearthed several high-powered firearms they allegedly own. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also declared martial law in the province because “lawless elements have taken up arms and committed public uprising against the duly constituted government and against the people of Maguindanao."

The so-called lawless elements are believed to be the Ampatuans’ private armies. - Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMANews.TV

http://eachnewsday.blogspot.com/

CA approves Ampatuans' amparo petition

MANILA - The Court of Appeals (CA) on Friday morning approved the writ of amparo petition filed by a lawyer of the Ampatuan clan in Cagayan de Oro City.

The CA branch in Cagayan de Oro City approved the amparo petition around 9 a.m..

The petition was filed Thursday by lawyers headed by Anwar Khalid Maliawao on behalf of the Ampatuan family.

Among the respondents to the petition were top military officials assigned to oversee security in Maguindanao.

The writ of amparo is a remedy of any person whose right to life, liberty and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act of ommission of a public official or employee.

The powerful political clan sought the CA's intervention, claiming police and military personnel have been "detaining" them inside their mansions in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.

The whole province has been placed under a state of emergency. Its provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak has also been placed under police and military control.

The lawyers of Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr। on Thursday also filed a petition for bail before the Cotabato City Regional Trial Court, where 25 counts of murder were filed against him for his alleged involvement in the massacre of 25 people in Ampatuan town last November 23.

Report from Rod Bolivar, ABS-CBN Cagayan de Oro